That Wacky Redhead

[Electric Monk]

A statistically bravura turn at the details of Star Trek. Applauds. I don't have that much else to say, but just a little:

Whitney's departure from the series was both acrimonious and mysterious: either it was because she had been sexually abused by multiple executives; she was falling into drug and alcohol addiction; the need for a permanent love interest for Kirk was deemed unnecessary; or some combination of the three.

Given her potential OTL fate, I hope she finds somewhere to land on her feet. Obviously everything is hard to verify, but if true IOTL her treatment was appalling.

John Colicos essayed the role of the nefarious Klingon Captain Kor, (Kor thus realizes the writers' dream, IOTL and ITTL, for a recurring rival character.)

The reoccurring villain trope is easily one of my favourites (of course I read Sherlock Holmes when I was like six, so Moriarty probably had an influence) and it's nice that TTL's Star Trek managed it. So many shows that attempt it just kinda give up on it or fail at it.

(Yes, both the crossover and the finale cost nearly $1 million apiece, very costly for 1970-71.)

Yikes. Heck even with the ratings I can hear the NBC executives going crazy over the finale. That is a ton of money for 1970-1971, is there any show you can point to that spent a million dollars on an episode in that era? I'm curious to see what that kind of money buys.

As far as I can tell OTL TNG was the first television drama to regularly spend more than a million per episode (of interest is that that their pilot cost 5 million, the DS9 pilot cost 12 million and the Voyager pilot cost 23 million (on what?!?) which adjusted for inflation cost more than Star Trek II (sigh)). Hmm. Looking into it I suppose Battlestar Galactica is the closest example with a 3-hour 9 million dollar pilot in 1978 but that's unfortunately not that close in years or money… however it is a pilot, whereas Star Trek had all the upfront costs already done by the time of the finale, so perhaps they're not terribly far off.

Thus concludes our in-depth analysis of the original run of Star Trek. It's been one heck of a ride, but all good things must come to an end. Our next look at the series will explore the aftermath, the continuing influence, and the legacy of the program, along with the fates of many of the principals in the years ahead. Just as IOTL, Star Trek will never leave the popular consciousness, no matter how final the conclusion may have seemed at the time. Look forward to the sixth (and last) production appendix for Star Trek as part of the next cycle of updates. And please respect the many names I mentioned above; they all played a part in making the show great, ITTL and IOTL.

All good things…. Like I've said I'm incredibly curious as to what everyone gets up, the impact on the science fiction landscape, and so forth. I also think you did a lovely thing with all the production, crew, and even the more well known actors: it was an excellent highlight. I can't wait for Star Trek: Phase II when Desilu needs some cash .

 

[stevep]

Brainbin

Fascinating summary of the TTL Star Trek and magnificent details.

Steve

 

[Glen]

BTW, Brainbin, congrats on inspiring so many pop culture threads lately.

 

[statichaos]

Holy crap.

This is the first time in a very long time that I've read an entire reasonably lengthy TL all in one sitting.

Congratulations on an astonishingly well-researched timeline that manages to be simultaneously plausible, entertaining, funny, and still somewhat bizarre.

Between Lucy, Humphrey, Moon Loonies, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Mary Tyler Moore, and the ghost of Carole Lombard, this story has absolutely everything. I'm only surprised that you left out an obvious piece of plumbing.

Congratulations on writing my favorite pop culture timeline in a couple of years.

 

[ChucK Y]

Yikes. Heck even with the ratings I can hear the NBC executives going crazy over the finale. That is a ton of money for 1970-1971, is there any show you can point to that spent a million dollars on an episode in that era? I'm curious to see what that kind of money buys.

The cross-over and finale were both two-hour stories. They would each count as two regular episodes, which is why four more episodes than season 4 would add almost 2 million dollars to the total cost.

 

[Electric Monk]

BTW, Brainbin, congrats on inspiring so many pop culture threads lately.

I will second that motion .

The cross-over and finale were both two-hour stories. They would each count as two regular episodes, which is why four more episodes than season 4 would add almost 2 million dollars to the total cost.

Ah, my bad. Half a million an hour. So that makes my example even worse. Production budgets are pretty tough to find for a lot of shows, I really don't know what a comparable example is then especially because Star Trek has most of the sets they'll need.

 

[Falkenburg]

Bravo, Brainbin.
That was simply outstanding. Superlative work.
Very few people could manage to convey quite so much detailed information in such an engaging way.

William Shatner portrayed James Tiberius Kirk
~SNIP~
Catchphrase or verbal tic: Tendency to speak with a peculiar cadence; difficult to describe but easy to imitate

Tell me I'm not the only one who read that in Kirks' Voice.

BTW, Brainbin, congrats on inspiring so many pop culture threads lately.

I will second that motion .

Consider it Thirded.

More power to your elbow.

Falkenburg

 

[Brainbin]

Thank you all for your comments on my latest update! I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I'm glad that many of you seem to be, too. But I'll get into more detail on that subject in my responses...

Any chance of you throwing this up in the "Finished" Timelines and Scenarios forum? Obviously ongoing works can go in there, Look to the West for example, and I was thinking about re-reading this whole thing. (Edit, nevermind, I did the work .)

And thank you for doing so! In recognition of combing through over 500 posts to find the mere 25 of relevant timeline (and for those of you who might have wondered how he did it: only those posts that I have given titles are considered proper updates), I hereby award you the No-Prize for Adept Archiving! You deserve every penny of the bupkis that you'll be receiving

But I will address your original question, because I had a feeling it might come up eventually: the reason I haven't posted anything to the "Finished" Timelines forum is because I'm not comfortable posting That Wacky Redhead there in its present form. I think it's substantially complete, enough that I'll never have to do a "Mark II" version, but I think I'll want to give at least some of my posts a light to moderate revision before I can put them all somewhere and say "This is the complete story of That Wacky Redhead". I'll probably need some help with proofreading and suggestions for revising and streamlining ideas before I get there, and that means I'll have to finish this "draft" beforehand, so that everyone will be able to look at the whole picture. At my present rate of speed, that'll take over a year from now.

I do love Hollywood accounting where a $45 million film actually costs $60 million, makes $200 million, and is reported as a net loss so they don't have to pay net points on the profit to people involved.

Who says cartoons can't teach children anything?

Hmm, I know you've detailed the extra money for Star Trek quite nicely. How about Mission Impossible? Or really any future show they make, I like those details.

A fair question. The problem is that not as much has been written about "Mission: Impossible" as Star Trek (not surprising, as more has been written about Star Trek than any other show to have ever aired). But I will provide general guidelines: expect a show starting out with a similar budget (just shy of $200,000 in the 1966-67 season), and more gradual inflation, because Herb Solow may like the show just fine, but it's not his baby the way Star Trek is. Also expect spikes for the season four budget (for Landau and Bain's raises), and the season six budget (ditto). By the final season (1972-73), the show will probably cost about $275,000 to $300,000 per episode - in the same ballpark as Star Trek's last season, though obviously this show is over the hill and cannot possibly justify those costs.

Competing Star Trek updates! It's on.

Allow me to suggest a corollary to the That Wacky Redhead drinking game. If any pop culture timeline on this site (and you can find a very nice list of them here) covers Star Trek (in any of its incarnations), drink.

My advice: if you want to get drunk, read all of them, because we all cover Star Trek

Can I confess total ignorance of what that means?

I'm referring to a text substitution macro - common on internet fora - where the member uses a certain word which, thanks to code already in place, is automatically changed into a different word.

If you read the Something Awful forums as an unregistered guest, for example, most profanities will be censored in this manner. (The "F-word" is instead rendered as "gently caress", for example).

If I could, I would macro most of my verboten words into something else entirely

It disappearing wouldn't really trouble me, either. Not a fan. (TBH, I never got it, but I have the impression you'd have to read from panel 1 to do that.)

Luckily, Doonesbury, like so many products of its time, rose to prominence on the back of Watergate (it won a freaking Pulitzer because of it), so it's very easy to butterfly that rise away. It might actually result in a funny political satire emerging from the funny papers.

Reasons why I believe Doctor Who will be better received and more popular ITTL's USA:

All good reasons, and I will discuss in great detail the reception to Doctor Who stateside in my post on the matter, which, yes, is the next one on the update schedule. I look forward to your continuing intense scrutiny

A statistically bravura turn at the details of Star Trek. Applauds.

Thank you very much

Given her potential OTL fate, I hope she finds somewhere to land on her feet. Obviously everything is hard to verify, but if true IOTL her treatment was appalling.

Most sources (including the venerable Inside Star Trek) agree that she was indeed sexually abused, which can't have helped her substance abuse habits any. Her treatment was appalling, and she deserves all the credit in the world for straightening out and moving on with her life. That said, the sexy Yeoman character (one of Roddenberry's hair-brained ideas, dating all the way back to "The Cage") really had no place on the show, and, assuming that plans were already in place to phase the character out independent of these other incidents (unlikely, I know), they did make the right decision from a creative point of view.

The reoccurring villain trope is easily one of my favourites (of course I read Sherlock Holmes when I was like six, so Moriarty probably had an influence) and it's nice that TTL's Star Trek managed it. So many shows that attempt it just kinda give up on it or fail at it.

They kept trying to bring Colicos back IOTL, but he was always busy; thank Barbara Luna for not coming down with anything during the filming of "Mirror, Mirror" ITTL, because that creates the opening needed to do so. I based Kor's characterization largely on William Campbell (who played Koloth IOTL) and his ideas of a recurring Klingon villain (apparently it was briefly decided that Koloth would fill that role, and all due respect to Campbell but he wasn't nearly as intimidating as either Colicos or Michael Ansara as Kang).

All good things…. Like I've said I'm incredibly curious as to what everyone gets up, the impact on the science fiction landscape, and so forth. I also think you did a lovely thing with all the production, crew, and even the more well known actors: it was an excellent highlight. I can't wait for Star Trek: Phase II when Desilu needs some cash .

I'm actually really looking forward to writing Appendix VI myself. It won't be a "Where Are They Now"-type update, because it's still going to take place in the early 1970s. So it'll be more along the lines of "What Are You Going To Do Now?!"

Fascinating summary of the TTL Star Trek and magnificent details.

Thank you, Steve

This is the first time in a very long time that I've read an entire reasonably lengthy TL all in one sitting.

I'm honoured - and in recognition, I award you the No-Prize for Due Diligence. You deserve nothing less! (You can't get anything less.)

Congratulations on an astonishingly well-researched timeline that manages to be simultaneously plausible, entertaining, funny, and still somewhat bizarre.

I like that description a lot - if ever I want to promote this timeline, I think I've found the perfect advertising blurb

Between Lucy, Humphrey, Moon Loonies, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Mary Tyler Moore, and the ghost of Carole Lombard, this story has absolutely everything. I'm only surprised that you left out an obvious piece of plumbing.

I'm glad you feel that I'm covering a lot of ground - I keep worrying that my perspective might be too limited, myself, which is part of the reason I keep moving into different "theatres" of pop culture. (And that's a reference to TV Tropes - everybody drink!)

Congratulations on writing my favorite pop culture timeline in a couple of years.

Thank you very much for your compliments, statichaos It humbles me that an author of your stature has such nice things to say about my work, and since I know you're reading, I'll divulge a story about this timeline's development. It was actually partly inspired by A World of Laughter, A World of Tears. That timeline, for those few of you who have not read it, also features a beloved pop culture figure who acts as a catalyst, and who in doing so changes the results of the subsequent Presidential election (rather more actively and directly than in my case). From that point forward, his world evolves into a nascent dystopia; quite harrowingly, I might add. So I decided to flip that paradigm on its head. Why not create a more positive world instead? I had already decided on Lucille Ball remaining at Desilu to save Star Trek, and standing up to George Schlatter to make the show a hit; butterflying the 1968 election became a natural consequence of that, and from there all the chips fell into place. The early 1970s really needed an image overhaul anyway.

The cross-over and finale were both two-hour stories. They would each count as two regular episodes, which is why four more episodes than season 4 would add almost 2 million dollars to the total cost.

Chuck, like so many of my readers, is a man of few words, but he makes every one of them count. You are absolutely correct, sir. The crossover costs about $500,000 per episode; NBC pays half the budgeted costs and 100% of the overruns (let's say about 60% of the total). The finale is actually cheaper than the crossover, but NBC covers all the costs, about $400,000 or so per hour of programming.

Bravo, Brainbin.
That was simply outstanding. Superlative work.
Very few people could manage to convey quite so much detailed information in such an engaging way.

Thank you very much, Falkenburg. As always, you flatter me and inflate the heck out of my already over-sized ego

Tell me I'm not the only one who read that in Kirks' Voice.

No! You were... not, but then, I often... read... many things-in-Captain-Kirk's-voice... my Falken friend

BTW, Brainbin, congrats on inspiring so many pop culture threads lately.

I will second that motion .

Consider it Thirded.

I'll let you all in on a little secret. As I was devising this timeline and preparing to post it to this forum, it was just about my wildest dream that maybe I might have some influence on other authors, and encourage them to consider writing popular culture timelines of their own... and for that to have actually come true brings me a great deal of joy (and, I admit, more than a little pride). Of course, these other timelines are all written by some fantastic authors, who have some really terrific ideas of their own, and I highly recommend that you read them, because they really deserve your input. I love all of the wonderful comments I've received as a result of writing this timeline, and I'm sure that they would love them, too You can find the master directory, along with some discussion and story ideas, right here.

 

[Electric Monk]

And thank you for doing so! In recognition of combing through over 500 posts to find the mere 25 of relevant timeline (and for those of you who might have wondered how he did it: only those posts that I have given titles are considered proper updates), I hereby award you the No-Prize for Adept Archiving! You deserve every penny of the bupkis that you'll be receiving

I also did Find "Post Count: xxx" (whatever yours was at the time), and just looked for posts with a title.

Yay! Bupkis!

But I will provide general guidelines: snip

Thanks, that sounds reasonable. Luckily (or unluckily) a lot of future shows are going to have a lot of stuff up to you.

Chuck, like so many of my readers, is a man of few words, but he makes every one of them count.p

I screwed up the money (sigh) but my question still stands: is there any show IOTL that we could see to get a feel for how the last episode of Star Trek would look?

Alternatively, what did they spend the extra quarter million dollars per hour on? Just the space battles, and covering the extra cast members?

it was just about my wildest dream that maybe I might have some influence on other authors, and encourage them to consider writing popular culture timelines of their own... and for that to have actually come true brings me a great deal of joy (and, I admit, more than a little pride).

You can find the master directory, right here.

Well it looks like you got your wildest AH dream come true! And good on you, I certainly wouldn't have got around to it without reading That Wacky Redhead.

 

[vultan]

William Shatner
Catchphrase or verbal tic: Tendency to speak with a peculiar cadence; difficult to describe but easy to imitate

Perfect description. Per-fect.

Hmm, I see that, aside from Spock and his dad, Sarek, there really were no alien characters of much note on the Federation side. On that note I must ask, over the course of the series (especially in the later seasons where the budget got significantly bigger) was their a greater use of creative alien costumes and puppets, similar to the Gorn and Salt Vampire, or were human aliens still the order of the day?

 

[phx1138]

both the crossover and the finale cost nearly $1 million apiece, very costly for 1970-71

Even $500K would be pretty enormous for '71. Didn't it take "Galactica" in '78 to break the $1 million/show barrier?

The cross-over and finale were both two-hour stories. They would each count as two regular episodes, which is why four more episodes than season 4 would add almost 2 million dollars to the total cost.

Somehow, I overlooked this...

I'm referring to a text substitution macro - common on internet fora - where the member uses a certain word which, thanks to code already in place, is automatically changed into a different word.

TYVM. I've seen those, & heard the term, but never had them connected before.

Luckily, Doonesbury, like so many products of its time, rose to prominence on the back of Watergate (it won a freaking Pulitzer because of it), so it's very easy to butterfly that rise away. It might actually result in a funny political satire emerging from the funny papers.

Since humor is an exceptionally personal thing, I'll leave off any comment. Unless you really want to debate if Letterman, Leno, Ferguson, or Stewart is funniest. (On my list, "E. None of the above".)

William Campbell (who played Koloth IOTL) and his ideas of a recurring Klingon villain (apparently it was briefly decided that Koloth would fill that role, and all due respect to Campbell but he wasn't nearly as intimidating as either Colicos or Michael Ansara as Kang).

Campbell had me thinking he was the most devious of them. He might've made a better Romulan, actually.

plausible, entertaining, funny, and still somewhat bizarre.

I think I've found the perfect advertising blurb

I think Grant Morrison has dibs on it.

 

[Electric Monk]

Even $500K would be pretty enormous for '71. Didn't it take "Galactica" in '78 to break the $1 million/show barrier?

Battlestar Galactica article from Future #6 (Nov. 1978)

Apparently no one knows exactly how much Galactica is costing. An average hour-long show of any other series seldom tops $300,000. The Galactica office announced a budget of around $7 million for their initial deal -- a three-hour pilot and two two-hour episodes. That averages out to $1 million per hour. On an average, that tops previous TV budgets. However, after completion of the first three-hour story, reputable sources were saying the budget had already topped $9 million ($3 million per hour); and Canadian publicity for the theatrical release claimed that Galactica was two years in the making at a cost of over $14 million.

I think the BSG budget got dumped into the pilot, which explains all the recycled SFX in the later episodes.

The first show to consistently break it—as far as I can tell—Star Trek: TNG with 1.3 million to 1.5 million dollars an episode in 1987-88.

 

[Brainbin]

Thanks, that sounds reasonable. Luckily (or unluckily) a lot of future shows are going to have a lot of stuff up to you.

You know what they say about absolute power

I screwed up the money (sigh) but my question still stands: is there any show IOTL that we could see to get a feel for how the last episode of Star Trek would look?

Unfortunately, I don't think so. We're in uncharted territory here. My advice would be to imagine the sumptuousness of the two original pilots, with their lavish production values; overlay the somewhat more garish aesthetic of the series proper; add in the stateliness (but not the ponderousness) of 2001: A Space Odyssey for the model work (though with much lower fidelity, given the small, poor-definition TV screens of the era); and add in just the right dose of claustrophobia and kinetic camerawork and editing from the earlier episodes of the series; along with the occasional deliberately "artsy" shots and cuts, courtesy of the veteran and more adventurous cinematographer, Jerry Finnerman, and the more experimental directors (primarily Senensky; "The Tholian Web" is a good example of his handiwork).

Alternatively, what did they spend the extra quarter million dollars per hour on? Just the space battles, and covering the extra cast members?

Well, in addition to the main battle(s) featuring the Enterprise and Kor's ship, there's going to be a "montage" of various Federation and Klingon ships teaming up to defeat Romulan ships, and that's going to take a lot of resources. Kor's bridge is going to be an important set, and there's going to be an entire crew of Klingon extras present; indeed, we'll also see our share of Romulans, all of whom will have their ears prominently exposed; the existing Enterprise sets are going to be trashed (no need to restore them, so why not?) with the engine room in particular being totally wrecked (just barely enough power to hobble out on "emergency warp drive"; think "The Doomsday Machine", but even more total destruction). Only the bridge set will be left intact, because... well, that would spoil the surprise. There's also going to be an elaborate Starbase set (we're spending most of the last act there, after all), lots of extras (including numerous aliens) cast to surround Komack and make him feel like a real Admiral; and yes, most of the main cast will be present in both halves, and some of them are commanding considerable sums by this point. Also: brand-new matte paintings, scale models, and original score (over an hour of music). But the short answer is: yes, mostly space battles. They really went all-out. As well they should have.

Well it looks like you got your wildest AH dream come true! And good on you, I certainly wouldn't have got around to it without reading That Wacky Redhead.

Thank you so much. I'm honoured to have contributed to your timeline in any way at all

Perfect description. Per-fect.

Why, thank-you, my... vultan friend

On that note I must ask, over the course of the series (especially in the later seasons where the budget got significantly bigger) was their a greater use of creative alien costumes and puppets, similar to the Gorn and Salt Vampire, or were human aliens still the order of the day?

Absolutely, yes. Much more creative puppetry and costuming was employed, to create more compelling aliens. Don't forget that Wah Chang is still involved, as is Janos Prohaska, and, at least as a consultant, Jim Henson (he designed and operated the sehlat in "Yesteryear").

Unless you really want to debate if Letterman, Leno, Ferguson, or Stewart is funniest. (On my list, "E. None of the above".)

I can't believe I'm agreeing with you again. Did you switch places with your counterpart from the Mirror Universe?

Campbell had me thinking he was the most devious of them. He might've made a better Romulan, actually.

Campbell was perfect in his other OTL Star Trek role (his one and only, ITTL) of Trelane.

I think the BSG budget got dumped into the pilot, which explains all the recycled SFX in the later episodes.

True, though the operating costs were still too high for ABC, who deliberately maneuvered the show into cancellation, despite having a bona fide hit on their hands; this is the problem with being a hit on a network that has a lot of them, as ABC did in the late 1970s.

 

[Orville_third]

One Star Trek actor & character you left out- Bruce Hyde, who played Kevin Thomas Riley.
Still, this is a major undertaking and I'll have to work really hard to measure up to the standards you've set, if I can when I begin my timeline or timelines.

 

[phx1138]

I think the BSG budget got dumped into the pilot, which explains all the recycled SFX in the later episodes.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

The first show to consistently break it—as far as I can tell—Star Trek: TNG with 1.3 million to 1.5 million dollars an episode in 1987-88.

I recall "Miami Mice" did it.

I can't believe I'm agreeing with you again.

Did you switch places with your counterpart from the Mirror Universe?

I haven't been in a transporter accident, been possessed by an alien, or been replaced by my good twin, either.

I suspect this one is generational. I preferred Carson to Jay (& have since thought Leno is going for the dumb & the mean), think Dave is too nasty, Craig (who I used to watch) got repetetive (& is going for dumb, too), & Stewart I just don't get the appeal of. I liked Mahr on "PI" (tho some of his views were liberal garbage & intellectually dishonest IMO), & I liked Carlin a lot. I do like Dennis Miller & Dennis Leary, when they're on their game. And Robin on a roll kills me, but he's sometimes just so lunatic... It also depends on the bit.

And for proof nothing has changed:

Campbell was perfect in his other OTL Star Trek role (his one and only, ITTL) of Trelane.

I despised Trelane.

 

[Electric Monk]

I recall "Miami Mice" did it.

You are right (it's hard to find these things). 1.3 million an episode. Reported to be one of the most expensive shows on TV though, so maybe they were the first to break a million bucks an episode regularly.

Who knows. TV budgets are quite secret, it helps with accounting (and screwing below and above the line folks in different ways).

 

[The Professor]

Must...not speak...like this!

A very good roundup of TL Star Trek years.

Looking forward to the future (or the new past or whatever )

 

[ChucK Y]

One Star Trek actor & character you left out- Bruce Hyde, who played Kevin Thomas Riley.
Still, this is a major undertaking and I'll have to work really hard to measure up to the standards you've set, if I can when I begin my timeline or timelines.

See post #233. Riley was not made a regular after his two appearances because Hyde dropped out and became a hippie.

 

[Brainbin]

Still, this is a major undertaking and I'll have to work really hard to measure up to the standards you've set, if I can when I begin my timeline or timelines.

Thank you very much, Orville_third. Especially for coming along for that heck of a ride, going all the way back to page one. I look forward to reading your timeline, whenever you finally deem it ready for public consumption

I despised Trelane.

To be fair to both the character and Campbell's portrayal of him, that was almost certainly the intended reaction. I personally really enjoyed his performance; although from what I can tell, I like "The Squire of Gothos" more than most other people do anyway.

You are right (it's hard to find these things). 1.3 million an episode. Reported to be one of the most expensive shows on TV though, so maybe they were the first to break a million bucks an episode regularly.

That doesn't surprise me. The costumes, the cars, the location shooting, Michael Mann flexing his creativity muscles... I can see that adding up to at least $1 million per episode. Though, like many people, I had always bought the old chestnut about Battlestar Galactica being the first to hit the seven-figure mark... which just goes to show that pop culture lore is not immune to misinformation.

Must...not speak...like this!

But, Professor, risk... is-our-business!

A very good roundup of TL Star Trek years.

Thank you very much. I'm glad you liked it

Looking forward to the future (or the new past or whatever )

The early 1970s! Which neither you nor I were able to witness in the flesh, though a good number of your fellow readers did...

See post #233. Riley was not made a regular after his two appearances because Hyde dropped out and became a hippie.

Once again, very astute, Chuck! In fact, I must hereby award you with the Certificate of Non-Achievement for Adept Archiving (sorry, I already gave Electric Monk the full No-Prize). Because you deserve the additional recognition

The next update, which should be ready this weekend, will concern the reception of Doctor Who by American audiences...

 

[phx1138]

The costumes, the cars, the location shooting, Michael Mann flexing his creativity muscles... I can see that adding up to at least $1 million per episode. Though, like many people, I had always bought the old chestnut about Battlestar Galactica being the first to hit the seven-figure mark... which just goes to show that pop culture lore is not immune to misinformation.

(Vague recollection alert) I'd bet both are right: "BSG" first to do it at all (with the expensive pilot), "Mice" first to do it with a routine episode. Bear in mind, this would've been in the news at the time...tho even "ET" isn't immune to error (or spin, or being lied to, & isn't exactly the gold standard for fact-checking).